Episode 78

Chapter 78. I Don’t Remember Anything at All

With Cedric finding the golden treasure box, the grand Foundation Festival came to a safe and dazzling end.

Of course, I still had to endure another hectic day afterward.

Because…

“Your Majesty the Empress, the ice palace you revealed at the Foundation Festival was truly breathtaking.”

“Yes, it was absolutely mesmerizing. What an honor it was to witness such a spectacle.”

“Of course, nothing could compare to Your Majesty’s beauty. Hohoho.”

“You seem to grow more stunning by the day, Your Majesty.”

To start with, the compliments following the Foundation Festival were endless.

Sure. Fine. I could deal with that. Thanks for the praise, I guess?

But the problem didn’t end there.

“Your Majesty, what are your plans for the next banquet?”

“Aren’t you going to host another tea party soon? We’re all eagerly waiting for your invitation. Oh! And if you could host one every day, that would be even better.”

“Your Majesty!”

Your Majesty! Your Majesty!

People were calling for me from every direction.

“I’m sorry, I’m very busy today, so if you’ll excuse me…”

In the end, I had to make a dramatic escape and declare a temporary retirement from high society.

I mean, who hosts a tea party every single day?

Seriously, people. Some personal space, please.

The overwhelming attention directed at me wasn’t just because of the ice palace I unveiled at the festival.

Another major factor was the gift Cedric had given me.

“Could that be the hairpin that was said to be in the golden treasure box, Your Majesty?”

Marie asked curiously beside me.

Yes. The treasure hidden in the golden box turned out to be none other than a hairpin.

A butterfly-shaped hairpin encrusted with rare, sparkling jewels.

Even just the value of the gemstones alone was astonishing.

But that wasn’t the only thing that made the hairpin so precious.

Above all, it was said to have once been a gift from the founding emperor to his empress.

He was recorded in imperial history as an extraordinary romantic, apparently.

A hairpin he had specially crafted for his beloved empress.

That alone made it a priceless artifact.

I’d heard it disappeared without a trace long ago—who would’ve thought it would show up in the treasure box?

Honestly, it felt like I’d just been given something far greater than expected.

It was clear—I’d have to find a fitting gift for Cedric soon.

I couldn’t just keep receiving things from him like this.

Anyway, my rise to the center of high society was practically inevitable after all that.

Piles of gifts and letters appeared at my door every morning as a bonus.

Replying to all the letters was a full-time job on its own.

Thankfully, the maids were helping me with it for now.

Strange.

Weren’t all these gifts and letters originally supposed to be meant for the original female lead?

Somehow, I’d ended up intercepting all of them.

Just then, Mary, who was standing nearby, muttered in annoyance.

“Aren’t these the people who used to send everything to the imperial concubine?”

The other maids nodded in agreement.

“Ugh, it’s so obvious what they’re trying to do.”

“They’re switching sides now, clearly.”

Their intentions were so blatant it was practically transparent. The maids clicked their tongues.

But even as they said it, they couldn’t hide their pleased expressions.

It seemed they were genuinely happy to see me becoming so popular in society.

“Well, there have been some unpleasant rumors about the imperial concubine lately.”

“Can you blame them? She wasted so much water at the Foundation Festival.”

As the maids said, public opinion of Fay had taken a nosedive after the festival.

I’d heard she’d been sulking in her room, barely coming out at all.

In the original story, Fay and I had completely opposite trajectories.

According to the novel, after the Foundation Festival, support for Fay should’ve skyrocketed.

The imperial concubine who was more beloved than the Empress.

That was who Fay was supposed to be.

And Helena, the jealous, interfering Empress, was meant to be loathed by all and eventually…

No. Enough of that.

I shook my head.

That was just the novel.

This was different now.

The original story had already started to twist.

Which means I have to stay flexible from here on out.

I clenched my fist in determination.

I absolutely would not let this end in a death route.

I’d get my divorce and disappear to a place where no one could ever find me.

A place where the original story didn’t matter anymore.

I was done getting dragged around by the main couple’s drama!

Of course, there were still many unanswered questions.

The biggest one being Jerome’s behavior.

Why won’t he agree to a divorce?

I thought he’d be thrilled when I brought it up.

If I were in his shoes, I would’ve thrown a parade.

From his perspective, loving Fay as he supposedly did, I should’ve been nothing more than an obstacle.

But Jerome stubbornly refused the divorce.

Suddenly, the words he spoke on the night of the Foundation Festival floated through my mind.

— “Innocent, is she? Ah, yes. That’s what everyone thinks. But you know too, don’t you?”

That’s right. That night.

I’d nearly forgotten.

What Jerome said then… was strange.

He sounded like someone who knew about Fay’s two-faced nature.

But…

How could that be?

It didn’t make sense.

He had fallen for her pure and innocent persona in the first place.

According to the novel, Jerome had grown disillusioned with the cruelty of palace life.

Then he met Fay and was captivated by her radiant smile.

So much so that he installed Helena as a puppet empress just to be with Fay.

What am I missing here…?

With the plot unraveling so wildly, I could no longer find any clear direction.

Just then, one of the maids entered the room and said,

“Your Majesty, the meal is ready.”

On the way to the dining hall, Leonard walked beside me as always, fulfilling his role as my escort knight. I chatted with him casually, bringing up things like the endless letters Mary had been suffering through from Emel—sometimes dozens a day—or the latest gossip from high society, which I’d heard through the maids.

“—That’s what they said. You really never know what people are capable of, right? Don’t you agree?”

There was no response.

“…?”

Puzzled, I turned to look at him. Leonard’s expression seemed oddly somber.

“Sir Leonard?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Leonard realize he hadn’t answered; his brow furrowed slightly.

“My apologies. I was… briefly lost in thought.”

“It’s fine. It wasn’t anything important anyway.”

I shook my head, then asked in a concerned voice,
“More importantly… is something wrong these days?”

“Something wrong?” Leonard echoed, as if genuinely surprised.

“You look gloomy… and somehow different than usual. Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“There’s nothing wrong. I’ve just been a little tired lately, since the knight order’s been especially busy.”

Leonard smiled, trying to brush it off as no big deal.
“I’m sorry if I caused unnecessary concern, Your Majesty.”

“No, I’m just glad it’s nothing serious.”

His smile seemed no different from usual—gentle and polite—but something still weighed on my mind. Now that I thought about it, he had been absent more often than usual lately. It seemed the knight order really was quite busy.

He’s even juggling his duties as my escort knight on top of all that…

The thought made me wonder if I’d been putting too much of a burden on him. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the dining hall. I set aside my worries about Leonard for the moment and took a deep breath.

Phew. Why am I so nervous about this?

This was my first meal with Jerome since the founding festival. Still, I hoped his attitude toward me had improved at least a little. After all, I was the one who had found the treasure he’d been searching for all this time. If he would just stop looking at me with those cold eyes, that alone would be a huge relief.

Yeah. It’s not like I’m asking for anything extravagant, right?

I take that back.

Maybe my expectations had been too high.

Jerome had arrived at the dining hall ahead of me and was already seated when I entered. And he greeted me with an astoundingly cold demeanor. He didn’t even glance in my direction as I took my seat across from him.

Still, I didn’t feel particularly upset.

This was just Jerome being Jerome, after all.

Ugh. Might as well just eat my food and get it over with.

Just then, the attendants began bringing out dishes one by one.

I tilted my head as I looked at the table.

…Huh?

It felt like everything had been tailored to my tastes—nothing but dishes I liked best.

As if someone had gone out of their way to plan it that way.

Oh! That’s right—one of the chefs was one of Helena’s collaborators.

I turned my head slightly. I could see the chef waiting near the door, watching me with a rather pleased expression.

I gave him a warm, grateful smile and picked up my fork.

While I was enjoying my food, a voice cut in unexpectedly.

“Is the food to your liking?”

“Huh?”

Startled by the sudden question, I looked up.

I blinked and nodded a bit awkwardly.

“Yes, well… I mean, it’s all stuff I really like.”

“Good.”

…Huh?

For a moment, I thought I saw a faint smile tug at the corners of his lips.

I blinked several times in disbelief.

But just like that, he was back to his usual blank expression, as if nothing had happened.

Maybe I imagined it…

Was I up too late last night writing that reply letter…?

At this rate, I was starting to hallucinate.

I pressed a fingertip under each of my eyes, giving the skin a gentle massage.

As I did, Jerome spoke again.

“Come to think of it… about the night of the Founding Festival.”

Oh.

Now that made my ears perk up.

Yes, that’s exactly what I was waiting to hear about.

I looked at him silently, expectantly.

Go on. Say it. You want to thank me, don’t you?

Swelling with hope, I waited for his next words.

But then—

“Well, nothing particularly special happened, right?”

“…Excuse me?”

What on earth was he talking about?

Still stunned, I asked again.

“You don’t seriously mean you don’t remember, right?”

“Maybe I drank too much that night…”

He stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.

Then he said it—bluntly and without a trace of hesitation.

“I don’t remember a thing.”